Today's Idols

Another great session that I attended at the worship conference was led by Andy Park.  He is the writer of many worship songs and is probably best known for writing "In the Secret."  His session was about the importance of worshipping God all week long...not just on Sundays.  Sundays are great days where we can gather together to worship as one body.  But, sometimes when we get back to work the next day, it seems as if we're in a different world.  Just as this applies to teachers, engineers, computer guys, and whoever...it definitely applies to pastors in the church as well.  We all let a variety of things become our "idols" and instead of worshipping God, we're worshipping these idols.  Andy Park shared five points about these idols.

1. Idolatry is a perversion of the good
2. Our identity is determined by the idol
3. Idols demand sacrifice
4. We justify our idols
5. Our idols finally kill us

He was mainly hitting on our jobs.  Many other things can also become our idols, but I can see how easy it is to make our jobs our idols.  Work was created by God and is a very good thing.  And, wherever He has placed us, we need to be the best that we can be.  One of my life verses is Colossians 3:23..."Work at everything as if you're doing it for the Lord, not for man."  Whatever gifts God has given us, we must take those and work for Him with everything we've got.  So...where do you draw the line?

"Idolatry is a perversion of the good"....if our job calls us to work 40 hours a week, we're not doing anyone any favors by working 50 or 60 hours instead.  This is a tough one for me.  I feel like if I could practice a little longer, or make a few more phone calls, or schedule another event, I could be more effective.  When in reality, that means I'm neglecting my own family who is waiting for me at home.  "Idols require sacrifice"....when I do that, I'm sacrificing my family time and making my work become my idol.  "We justify our idols"...believe me, ministry is an easy thing to justify because everything we're doing seems worthwhile.

Are there things in your life that are demanding more sacrifice and distracting you from what God is calling you to be?  Life's not supposed to be frantic.  If things are getting in your way, maybe you need to let them go.  Or, maybe you need to find a way to better control them so they don't keep getting worse.

I want to be used by God for the rest of my life.  I pray that I can be an effective worship pastor without allowing my position to become my idol.  It's 5:00...I'm heading home to be with my wife =).

Creativity in Worship

It was interesting to see several classes at the CMS conference about "Creativity in Worship."  At Edgewood, we've been praying about ways to make our services more effective and more attractive to a broader audience.  We want to find creative ways to help people connect.  SO...my attention was definitely caught when I saw these classes.  Overall, the classes were all about creativity...but all about keeping the focus on the Lord first and the creativity second.  They were very encouraging.  Here are a collection of thoughts that I gathered.

1. In the church, creativity is not something we do; it's the way we do something.
2. Creativity is not the goal, God is.  We want to glorify Him.
3. God intended music to show our unity, not to divide us.
4. What you win people with, that's what you win them to...If they're excited about the change and not the Lord, we've missed the point.
5. Make sure creativity helps us remember God, not confuse us.
6. The power is in the gospel..not our creativity.
7. Know and treasure God's Word more than creativity.
8. Trust the power of the Gospel.
9. Expose yourself to creative communities...see what others are doing.
10. Never stop asking questions of your church body...what's working and what's not.
11. You want to leave a service saying, "What a great God" not "What great creativity".
12. The church used to lead the way creatively (think about Michaelangelo and Bach), but now it seems like we're just copying everyone else's slogans/logos/songs/etc.
13. We MUST think outside the box.
14. God has blessed us with a strong mind and a strong heart...we need to USE them and follow His direction.
15. We must figure out what passions God has placed in our hearts...and then follow them!  Be bold!
16. God made us with a specific plan in mind.  It's revolutionary when we find ourselves.
17. We can't worry about what people will like and not like...we must worry about what God will like and not like.
18. We must spend time alone with Him.

There you go!  Plenty of thoughts!  It's a lot to swallow, but I hope some of these jump out to you.  The ones that stick out to me the strongest are the ones about finding out who God has made me to be.  I need to be bold to follow those passions.  When I do that, I'm using God's creativity in me to bring glory to Him.

Music...is it a gift or a god?

Over this last weekend, I had the privilege to attend the Christian Musician's Summit in Redmond.  Wow!  It was quite an encouraging time to join with hundreds of other church musicians to grow musically and spiritually.  As I sift through all my notes from the weekend, I'll probably add more posts about the conference.  But, I wanted to share some notes from our opening session.  Bob Kauflin, from Sovereign Grace Ministries, asked us the question..."Is music a gift or a god?"

Music is a huge part of our lives...especially in the lives of anyone attending a Christian Musician's Summit.  But, if we're not careful, we can let the music become our focus instead of keeping God as our focus.  Bob shared 5 ways of how we'll know if we're making music a god.

1. When we choose to attend a church based on the music more than the preaching of God's Word.
2. When we can't worship apart from a particular song, style, or leader.
3. When we think music leads us into God's presence.
4. When poor musical performance leads us to sin against our band members.
5. When a love for music has replaced a love for God.

As far as the first two, we must always remember that we gather around Jesus Christ, NOT music.  I'm not a big fan of a church offering services with different worship styles for this exact reason.  If Christians can't even sing songs together, what does that say to the world around us?? 

People say #3 all the time without really thinking about what they're saying.  Yes, music can create a great mood and atmosphere and give us an opportunity to worship.  But it can't manipulate God.  Hebrews 10:19 says that we only enter into God's presence by the blood of Jesus.  #4 is for the worship leaders...a tricky one during a stressful rehearsal, that's for sure!  Yes, we must strive for excellence...but we're all going to make mistakes and we must extend grace when that happens.  Our hearts are more important to God than a "perfect" musical performance.

Lastly, #5 is a great reminder to keep our focus on God, not the music.  If we truly did this, we would be thrilled at every worship service regardless of if it was a full choir and orchestra leading the music, a praise band, or just an acappella singing time.  It shouldn't matter if it's songs that are 500 years old, or 5 minutes old.  We need to be in love with God and take advantage of every minute He gives us to worship Him.

Bob closed saying "Let's love music, for God's sake."

I liked his message and it was a great reminder to keep our focus in the right place.  I love music and am constantly listening to it, singing it, or practicing it for something.  But, I want to do it all for His sake...not for the sake of music.  I hope you can join with me in that goal to use music to bring glory to God and God alone.

"Special" Music

From time to time we like to have a soloist, ensemble, or choir share "special music" during our service.  What I want to hear from you this week is how has God used those songs to minister to you...or is He?

This is something I'm currently debating...do we need to do more of these, or less?

Scripture talks about the importance of congregational singing, so there is no debate about the importance there.  But, what about when one person or one group of people is singing and the rest of the congregation is just watching and listening?  I've been in churches where we felt like we "had" to have special music every week or something terrible was going to happen.  I've also heard of many churches who don't want any special music AT ALL.  I don't think it has to be all or nothing on this one, but here are a few of my thoughts.

Things I don't like about special music....
1. It doesn't directly involve the entire congregation
2. I typically notice many who have "tuned out" and turn to reading their bulletin or writing notes
3. It takes time away from the congregational singing portion of the service
4. Sometimes it can seem very "perfomance-oriented" instead of "worship-oriented"

Things I DO like about special music....
1. It is a great way to introduce a new congregational worship song (I do this particularly with the choir)
2. Sometimes a message set to music can speak stronger than just the words by themselves...so a strong message within a song can really stick with people throughout the whole week.
3. It's another great way for musicians to use their talents for the Lord

These are just a few thoughts to get us started...but what do you guys think?  Has God used special music to speak to you?  Would more special music enhance our worship services?  Or, should we do less?  I'd prefer for you to sign your name to the comments so I can see who I'm listening to...but if you'd rather go "anonymous" for any reason, that is totally fine as well.  I'd love to hear from many of you on this one!

It's a girl!

We found out yesterday that we're going to have a baby girl!  Seeing the ultrasound of our baby's tiny little arms and legs and body was absolutely amazing.  That was an experience we will never forget!  She was having a good ole' time moving all over the place =).

We've decided to name her Madelyn Joy and we know she is going to bring MUCH joy to our lives.

Psalm 139:13-14 has never been so real to me as it is now.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Seeing the details of God's handiwork right before my own eyes...wow.  Little Madelyn is fearfully and wonderfully made and we praise Him for that!

However young or old you are reading this today, I pray that you too can be encouraged by this verse.  Remember that God created YOU and knit YOU together as part of His perfect plan.  He doesn't make mistakes =).  Praise Him today because YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Don't be anxious...easier said than done.

What things cause you to be anxious, or to worry?  For me, even though I do it every week, it's talking in front of our congregation!  You that attend Edgewood know that I don't say much more than I need to and I like to let the songs speak for themselves.  We could sing 20 minutes worth of music and talk for 30 seconds and I'd be more nervous about that 30 seconds than the rest of the service!  However, every once in awhile a short song introduction or reminder of why we're singing what we're singing can really help keep our focus on track.  So, I think it's an important thing to do. 

Just being in front of people isn't really the problem.  It's more of the fact that if there is something I feel God is leading me to say, I want to make sure I say it right and clearly for everyone to understand.  I tend to stumble over my words a lot and not be too clear with my speech.  Sometimes I'll even be in the middle of a sentence and forget what I was talking about.  Sheesh. 

The story of God calling Moses has been a strong encouragement to me through this struggle.  We all know the amazing things that God did through Moses, but do you remember the struggles he had getting started?  First of all, God sent Him a burning bush...wouldn't that be a pretty clear message right there that you need to listen and do what God is asking??  But, Moses asks (Exodus 3:11) "But who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"  God replied, "I will be with you."  But, apparently that wasn't enough either.  In 4:10 Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant.  I am slow of speech and tongue."  I'm right there with ya' Moses!

But listen to God's reply...

"Who gave man his mouth?  Who makes him deaf or mute?  Who gives him sight or makes him blind?  Is it not I, the Lord?  Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

Wow.  God gave me this mouth and I worry that it's not good enough??  I need to speak with boldness, without fear, knowing that God will help me speak and teach me what to say.  God worked through Moses' life to accomplish impressive things...I need to allow God to work through my life in powerful ways as well.

Two other great verses that encourage me are...
2 Timothy 1:7  "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
Phil 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, in thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Is there something that's holding you back from serving God fully this week?  Something that makes you nervous that you need to let go to God?  Present those to God, let Him take control and see what He wants to do through your life!

- I'd always love to hear comments on this blog about how these posts encourage you, or maybe you have further examples or questions.  I'd love to hear from you.  Just click on "comments" underneath each post. -